The Pilot Who Spent 20 Minutes Hanging for His Life

Flying the plane was Captain Tim Lancaster who had already over 11,000 flight hours at the age of 42. Alastair Atchison was the co-pilot with ... AdBlockerDetected Wehavedetectedthatyouareusingextensionstoblockads.Pleasesupportusbydisablingtheseadsblocker.Adskeepusgoingandweaskfornothingelseinreturn...Thankyouforyourcooperation. OK reportthisad reportthisad ThePilotWhoSpent20MinutesHangingforHisLife FlightBA5390andtheincrediblefortunethathelpedavoidadisaster byAndreiTapalaga|Sep22,2022|Technology|0comments CaptainTimLancasterbeingheldbyacrewmemberin1990(Source:AirDisasters/NationalGeographic) Share Share Tweet ravelingbyairhasbecomesomethingcommoninourpresent,despitestillbeingameansoftransportimplementedabout100yearsago,ithasmadelifesomucheasier.Ithasevenbeendefinedbyexpertsasthesafestmeansoftravel.Basedonthehundreds,ifnotthousandsofflightsthattakeplaceeveryday,havingahandfulofcrasheseveryyearisnothingcomparedtothenumberofcaraccidentsthatarehappeningonadailybasis. Evenso,withthesafestmeansoftransport,westillhaveasmallpercentageofeventsthatoccur,andflightBritishAirways5390wasauniqueincidentinthehistoryofcommercialflyingandpossiblyflyingasawhole.BAflight5390wasaservicefromBirmingham(BHX)downtoMálaga–CostadelSol(AGP),Spain’sfourth-busiestairport. AnotherdayintheBoringLifeofaPilot NothingwasdifferentonJune10th,1990.BAC1–11–500wasthesameplaneusedforthisflightforquiteawhile.TheplaneitselfwasbroughtintotheBritishAirwaysfleetin1988andhadbeenservicedaccordingly.BritishAirwaysarewellknownfortakinggoodcareoftheiraircraft.Thisspecificflighthad81passengersincludingthefourcabincrewmembersandtwopilots. FlyingtheplanewasCaptainTimLancasterwhohadalreadyover11,000flighthoursattheageof42.AlastairAtchisonwastheco-pilotwith7,500flighthoursattheageof39.Bothpilotswerewellexperiencedandhadtheirfairshareofin-flightproblemsaswellaspossibledisastersthatwereavoidedduetotheirexperience. BAC1–11:Crewand87passengerswereatmortalriskaftertwocockpitwindowsblewoutmidflight(Source:WikimediaCommons) Pre-flightcheckshavebeendonetwiceasperguidelinesandtheaircraftpresentednotechnicalissues.Theaircrafthadtakenoffat8:33AMwithnoissuesfromBirminghamairport.ThelevelofturbulencewasnormalaccordingtoBritishweather.Theaircraftwasslowlyclimbingtogainthenecessaryaltitudetocruisetothedestination.Commercialjetswouldflyataround30,000feet(8500meters),butBAC1–11–500wasasmalleraircraft,itcruisedatanaltitudeof27,000feet(8000meters). ExplosiveDecompression About30minutesaftertake-off,twoofthecockpitwindowssmashed,depressurizingthecabinandsuckingCaptainTimLancasteroutofthecockpit.Lancasterwasquiteluckyasifitwouldn’thavebeenforoneoftheattendancequickaction,hewouldhavenotsurvivedthatday.FlightattendantNigelOgdengrabbedhisCaptain’sanklesbeforedisappearingoutofthewindow.Duetothehighspeedandlowpressureatthataltitude,pullingLancasterbackwashumanlyimpossible. “IwhippedroundandsawthefrontwindscreenhaddisappearedandTim,thepilot,wasgoingoutthroughit—hehadbeensuckedoutofhisseatbeltandallIcouldseewerehislegs,”(Quoteby NigelOgden) ItwasnotjusttheCaptain’slifeontheline,butofeveryone’sontheboardofthatflight.IfOgdendidn’tcatchtheCaptainintime, therewasahighchancefortheCaptaintoflyrightintotheengineoftheJet,destroyingtheengineandcausinganexplosionthatwouldsendtheaircrafttowardsacertainnose-divecrash.Thiswouldhaveresultedinthedeathofeveryoneonboard. Co-pilotAtchisonwastryingtodescendasquicklyaspossibletowardsSouthamptonairportinordertoproceedwithanemergencylanding.Astheco-pilotwastalkingwithflightcontroloveratSouthampton,Ogdenwasstartingtolosehisgrip.AnotherflightattendantnamedSimonRogersrealizedthatOgdenwasnotabletoholdtheCaptainforanother15minutesuntiltheplanelanded,sotheyusedextraseatbeltstotietheCaptain’slegstothechair. PhotoofTimLancasterhangingoutoftheplanein1990(Source:AirDisasters/NationalGeographic) Whilstallofthiswashappening,Lancasterwasforcedbythespeedoftheplanetositinthesameposition.Theshirtofhimrippedfromthepowerfulspeedcombinedwithhighwindsfromthehighaltitude.Oneoftheworstpartsisthatforthewholetimehewasn’tabletoshuthiseyes,sohehadtoconstantlyseepotentialdeathinthesky. “Mostterrifyingly,hiseyeswerewideopen.I’llneverforgetthatsightaslongasIlive.”(Quoteby Tim Lancaster) Atabout8:50AM,theplanehadsuccessfullylandedatSouthamptonairportandLancasterwasabletocomebackintothecockpit.TheemergencyserviceshadwaitedfortheplanetolandandgivefirstaidtotheCaptain.Hewasluckytoescapewithhislifeandonlyafewsmallinjuries.Themedicsalsoacknowledgedthatthankstothequickdescent,hewasnotdeprivedofoxygen.Iftheco-pilotwouldhavekepttheplanelongerat27,000feet,theCaptaincouldhavediedfromthelackofoxygen. Heroesofflight5390:CaptainTimLancastersurroundedbycrew,fromleft,AlistairAtchison,JohnHoward,NigelOgden,SusanPrince,andSimonRogers.(Source:GettyImages) Attheendoftheday,everyonemadeithomesafe.Inthisphoto,youareabletoseethewholecrewaroundtheirCaptainwhohasminorbruisesaroundhischestandarms.ThecrewhasworkedtogethertonotonlykeeptheirCaptainalivebuteveryoneelseonthatflightwhowasatgreatrisk. AndreiTapalagaAvidWriterwithinvaluableknowledgeofHumanity! Upcominghistorianwithover30millionviewsonline. SpecializedinModernHistory. [email protected] reportthisad reportthisad YouMayalsoLike TheLostEgyptianCityofHeracleionWasDiscoveredUnderwater Acitythathadsunk1500yearsagoReadmore For24YearsaDolphinGuidedShipsThroughtheStraitsofNewZealand ThelegacyofPelorusJackReadmore EgyptiansontheOriginofthePyramids AMinisterfromEgypthasshutdownanyconspiracyabouttheoriginofthepyramidssuchasbeingbuiltwithReadmore x